William Dalton (author)

William Dalton (1821–1875) was a Victorian-era British author of adventure stories for youth set in exotic locations such as China, Japan and Peru.

[2] Dalton was the first among many authors to novelize the true story of William Adams, who was the first Englishman to reach Japan in the 17th century.

[1] His "romantic biography" is called Will Adams, the First Englishman in Japan (1861).

[1] It is not an accurate history - Dalton never went to Japan, he relied on old sources and fictionalized the story - but it is a reflection of 19th century British stereotypes of Japan, about which little was known in the years immediately after Perry's arrival.

[1] Later authors would also novelize the Adams story, the best known is James Clavell's Shōgun (1975) and subsequent 1980 film.